Car-fender.



P. 0. AUSTIN.

GAR FENDER.. APPLICATION rvILBD JAN. 21, 190e.

Patented Apr. 6, 1909.

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F. C. AUSTIN.

CAR FENDER.

4 APPLIOATION FILED JAN,27, 1908. 9175520. Patented Apr. 6, 1909.

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FOSTER O. AUSTIN, OF LOS ANGELES, OALlFORNIA.

CAR-FENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April e, 1909.

Application filed January 2'?, 19118. Serial No. @12338.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Fos'rna C. AUSTIN, a citizen of the TJnited States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county ot' Los Angeles and State of Caliifornia, have invented new and useful improvements in Car Fenders, of which the following` is a specification.

r1`his invention relates to improvements on my car fender for which Letters latent No.

f: 829,564, were issued to me'on August 28,

1906, and consists in the combination with the former apparatus ot' an automatic tripping device which will lower the tender into its operative position upon its front end striking any obstruction upon the track.

rilhe invention further consists in the improved construction or the ditlerent parts in arranging the fender to be folded up, and also in supporting the same from the trucks at a point in front of the car body.

1 accomplish the above by means ot the device described herein and illustrated in the accompanying' drawings, in which z- Figure 1, is a side elevation ot a portion of a car equipped with my improved tender, which shown in its normal position.. Fig. 2, is a view similar to Fig. 1 with the tender in its lowered or operative position. Fig. 3,

is a plan view taken as indicated by line 3h22 of Fig. 1. Fig. et, is an enlarged see^ tion taken on line ava ot Fig. 2l. Fig. 5, is a view taken similarly to Fig. a with the tender in its folded position. Fig. (i, is an enlarged perspective detail ot' the lower hinged joint of the tender frame. 7, is an enlarged perspective detail ot the upper hinged joint of the tender frame. F S, is an enlarged sectional perspective detail of the upper hinged joint of the tender trame taken on line SWS ot llig. (3, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Referring to the drawings 1() designates a car body oit' the construction usually utilized for electrically operated street cars, truck 11 pivotally supporting the car body in the usual manner. Truck 11 is provided with the usual frame 13 to which supporting frame let for the fender is secured. rthis frame is preferably composed ot angle iron and carries upon its outer or front end a traine 15 which is formed preferably of a tlat strip. ot' iron bent into a rectangular form. rrttached to frame 15 and near the ends thereof are mounted bearing brackets 16 to the front ends` o which is secured a second rectangular traine 1'( pivoted as at l 18 to the brackets 16.

Rigidly secured to trame 1T at the iront end thereof is the tender proper which is preferably composed of three members secured together in any suitable manner.

lCentral frame member 19 of the fender is preferably formed of hollow tubing and stands in an approximately vertical position, preferably extending upwardly to a point below the draw bar of the car so that when it is desired to couple the car to another, as is frequently the case,v the tender will not ofier an obstruction. To the upper end .of central it' a member 19 is hinged, at 20, upper trame member 21 which extends upwardly and' forwardly, the joint between these two Jtrame members being shown in enlarged detail in Fig. 7. The upper ends oi2 frame member 19 are each provided with a hinge lug 22, and irame member 21 with hinge luo 23, which are pivoted together :it 20. Frame member 21 is constructed preferably ot hollow tubing, and inside this tubing' a locking bolt is slidably mounted, a knob 2o projecting through a slot 26 in the wall oit the tubing providing means for moving the locking bolt. This locking bolt 211- is adapted to bear against the upper end of hinge lug 22 and thereby to prevent the torward movement ot the upper trame niember, while the lower end olli the upper frame member bears directly against lug 27 forniing a part oi trame member 19 which prevents its rearward movement. TVhen it is desired to fold the upper frame member into the position shown in Fig. 5, locking bolt is moved upwardly out of engagement with extension and. the whole upper it'rame may then be swung forwardly and downwardly into the position shown in Fig. 5 ot' the drawings.

Low n' iframe member 30 extends from the lower end of central traine member 19 torwardly and slightly downwardly, being hinged to the central frame at 31. Referring' particularly to Fig. 6 the inner end of traine member 30 is pivot-ed to the ends or' the tubing .traine 19 and projects beyond the pivotal point into the tubing. The lower part of the tubing is cut away as at so that trame member SO may be moved upwardly and rearwardly into its folded po* si tion as shown in llig. 5. The end of frame member 30 bearing upwardly against the tubing oi traine member' 19, as at 33, prevents the downward movement of the outer end of frame member 30, and a sleeve 34, provided with a projecting linger 35, is adapted to slide downwardly on frame member 19 so that the linger may pass under the end of frame member' 30 and prevent its downward movement, and the upward movement of the front end of the same. An apron S6 is attached to the lower end of frame member 19, into which apron linger 35 projects when in its lowered position, this apron forming a brace for the finger and also protecting it from any accidental injury by striking an object on the track and for further strengthening the joint at that point. All of the frame members are provided with a netting 40 which is stretched upon inner frame 41 attached to the tubular frames. This netting may be composed of any suitable material which is preferably soft and resilient, such materials as hemp cord giving good results. F rom the drawings it will be noted that a basket shaped structure is thus formed which will prevent any object upon the track from passing beneath the truck wheels and Vfrom escaping from the fender over its top.

ln its normal position the fender will be held a short distance above the track, the front end of frame 30 clearing the track by a suitable distance so that no object of any size may pass underneath the same. l have provided mechanism whereby the front end of the fender may be lowered so as to rest directly upon the track, and this mechanism is so constructed that it may be operated either by the motorneer or by any object upon the track which strikes the front end of the fender.

Referring particularly to Fig. 4 frame 15 is provided with a pair of hinged hooks 45 which are adapted to hook over the front edge of pivoted frame 17 and prevent its downward movement. These hooks are resiliently pressed down by springs 46 so that they are held in engagement with the frame until raised by cams 47 mounted on operating shaft 48 which is journaled in bearing pieces 16. On the outer ends of shafts 4S are mounted arms 49 which normally project upwardly and rearwardly to carry on th wir ends a curved transverse operating bar 50. This bar is formed on the arc of a circle whose center is at 51, the bearing point of the car body upon truck 11. Mounted upon the under side of the car {ioor 12 in bearings 52 is a rectangular frame 53 which is of sul'licient transverse extent to allow draw bar 54 to pass therethrough in any position it may assume on curves.

Pivotally connected to the center of the lower side of frame 53 is a reach bar 54 which loosely connects with operating bar 50 as at 55. This reach bar is prevented from any transverse movement relative to the car body by a vertical guide 56 which is mounted upon the under side of draw bar support 57 and which allows of vertical movement of the reach bar to accommodate any relative movement between the car body and the trucks. On account of the curvature of bar 50 it will be seen that reach bar 54 will always remain in operative engagel vthe upper face of frame 17 and this stop bar immediately contacts with hook 45 upon the forward movement thereof. A stop 61 prevents any excessive upward movement of hook 45 so that it may not move out of engagement with stop bar 60. Thus when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 2 hook 45 prevents the further forward and downward movement of the fender while cam 47 prevents its rearward and upward movement. When the foot lever is released the frame is moved to its normalrposition by means of springs 44.

ivotally mounted on the outer faces of bearing pieces 16 are levers 65 which are slotted on their rupper ends as at 66 to receive the outer ends of curved bar 50. The lower ends of these levers are connected to forwardly extending rods 66 which are pivotally connected to a trip frame 67. ThisY trip frame is yslidably mounted in lower frame member 30 and is provided with a transverse contact bar 68 which is normally in a position shortly in advance of the front end of the fender frame. Upon this contact bar striking any obstruction upon the track it is immediately forced rearwardly and the fender is thereby operated into its lowered or operative position to pick up the object which has been struck.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that my fender embodies the advantages of being suspended or supported from the car truck so that it may follow the rails closely, and also that it is supported at a point in front of the car body where its action is most efficient. lt will further be noted that the automatic tripping means for lowering the fender to its operative position is simple in construction and therefore not likely to become disordered. `When folded up this fender presents a neat and compact appearance and is out of the way of the draw bar so that the same may be utilized whenever desired without any interference.

On account of the pivoted mounting of my fender, and its consequent adaptability to be instantly lowered to its operative position7 it is possible to carry itin a normal position at some distance above the track. Vl`his clearance allows my enderto be used with absolute safety on high speed cars, without any danger of the fender buckling' by contact with the track and wrecking` the car, as is often the case with non-adjustable tenders.

lilaving described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters l atcnt iszm l. fender, comprising' a rigid frame adapted to be secuid to the vehicle truck, a tender iframe pivotally attached to said rigid trame, said fender trame comprising a central vertical memlier, a horiz ntal member pivoted to the lower end of said vertical membc and a forwardly miei-hanging' member pivoted to the upper end of Said vertical member7 and automatic means to control. themovement of said Ytender frame.

2. fender, comprising a fender frame attached to the Vehicle truck frame, said 'fender frame comprising' a central vertical member. a horizontal member pivoted to the lower end of said vertical member and a orwardly overhanging member piyoted to the upper end oi'.z said Vertical member, and

tender control means adapted for either automatic or manual operation.

3. A device of the class described, conipi'ising a tender frame adapted to be pivotally secured to a truck Jr'rame of a power operated vehicle, said fender frame comprising;` a central vertical member, a horizontal member pivoted to the lower end oic said i ertical member and a forwardly overhanging' member pivoted to the upper end of said vertical member, and a tripping mechanism operatively connected to said fender and adapted to be operated automatically upon siriliiilg.` an obstruction.

el. A vehicle fender, comprising a rigid su pporting frame secured to the vehicle truck trame, a tending member piyotally mounted on said supporting` trame, a rectangular 'trame pivotally mounted on the under side of the vehicle body, said frame encompassing the draw bar of the vehicle, and sliding connective means between said rectangular trame and the )tending` member.

ln witness that claim the foregoing- I have hereunto subscribed my name this 17th day of .Yanmar-y, 1908.

FOSTER C. AUSTN. lVitnesses EDMUND A. STRAUSE, OLLm PALMER. 

